


What do you mean you are not an Elf?

by Kinococha



Series: Fleurmione Holidays Fics [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Attempt at Humor, Christmas fic, Elf Culture & Customs, Elf! Luna, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Family Bonding, Fleur is the grinch, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Inspired by a bunch of Christmas movies, Romance, She just hates christmas, Yule Ball
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27724313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinococha/pseuds/Kinococha
Summary: Hermione was fine living her life at the north pole. Really she was fine. But an unexpected letter changed the course of her actions as she never imagined it was possible before. And now besides having to understand the human world Hermione have to put up with a grumpy blonde. What a Grinch.
Relationships: Fleur Delacour/Hermione Granger
Series: Fleurmione Holidays Fics [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2165904
Comments: 45
Kudos: 237





	1. Prologue: A choice

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to write a Christmas story based on many films and my random mind :v Hope you guys like it will be a long project ;)

The sound of heavy tools hitting metal echoing through the deserted hallways of the castle. The spark of small saws cutting wood. The faint smell of burning plastic with electric hiss only could indicate a common Tuesday morning. 

A young mechanic, who despite being too busy stressing with the new engine, still managed to appreciate this catharsis of senses in her workshop.

Machines are always built with a function. And this one must be in perfect condition to be able to perform the crucial task assigned to it. But only if that piece of metal trash decides to start collaborating first. 

"Damn it!" the mechanics shouted in frustration when a cloud of black smoke invaded her face "I'm warning you your piece of garbage starts working or I'll dismantle you, throw you in the furnace and bury you so deep in the snow that nobody will ever be able to find your body again." each threat was followed by a new huff of frustration. 

Why this engine couldn't handle the power source? It had passed all the preliminary tests, the graphics were impeccable and the material used was the best quality offered by the market. And yet the engine was behaving like a spoiled child. 

The mechanics sighed. Wiping the sweaty forehead with a fabric that had certainly seen better days she started cleaning the burned circuit breaker. Although only a few wires melted, it was enough to go back two weeks of hard work. She would have to build another one from scratch. Again. 

"It would be much easier if we used electricity instead of raw magic to energize these things." mumbled as throwing her gloves away on the floor. 

The day had barely started and she already had a pile of extra work to complete. Great, just fucking great. Before the mechanics could better elaborate her plan of hitting the engine with a hammer until it decided to function, a contradictory calm voice came from behind.

"You know, screaming is not a form of energy that you can store in tubes... Not in this universe at least." 

Pinching the tip of her nose, she slowly turned her head to greet the blonde invader in the workshop. It always seemed that the other girl had some kind of a sixth sense and managed to appear at the exactly worst moments of her work. At least sixty percent of the time she brought two mugs of hot chocolate with her. It was difficult to remain irritated when you had pieces of little marshmallows and cocoa with you.

"Hello, Luna now is really not a good time." 

Despite the clear dispensation in the other girl's voice Luna just smiled back. She was more than used to her friend's crankiness when she got stuck in a new project.

"This time I didn't come solemnly to convince you to take a break, I have a letter for you and it's an official one." said as she took a bright yellow letter from her coat pocket and handed it to the mechanic. 

Trying to clean the grease from her hands with her suspiciously dirty piece of fabric she accepted the offered yellow piece of paper. An official letter on a Tuesday morning could only mean one thing. 

"Mrs. Claus is summoning me, isn't she?" Her voice was tired just by thinking about it.

"How would I know? I don't read someone else's correspondence, Hermione." Luna had her classic playful tone in her voice.

Hermione rolls her eyes. 

"Because even if you don't read, you always seem to know everything that happens in this castle." Her eyes scanning the letter contents letting out a loud grunt "Unbelievable!" 

"That bad?" 

"She is dismissing me from working on the new engine until further notice and apparently I have a meeting scheduled in her office right now!" _Great, just fucking great!_

"I'm sure she has her reasons." While looking vaguely at nothing she completed "Don't forget the northern hemisphere is in winter too." 

Ignoring the last pointless part of her friend's speech, the mechanic left the shop to find her department head. 

She could just apparate at the office door but needed the walk to discharge the nervous energy. Which resulted in a twenty-minute delay and a timid knock on the door. 

"Came in Hermione." Mrs. Claus was an elderly-looking woman, despite not receiving due recognition for her work as her husband, with her white hair and round glasses the womam always brought a smile to her face when talking to the elves, and with Hermione, it was no different "I think you're wondering why I called you here."

Only the tremendous respect Hermione had for the woman in front of her prevented her from speaking any nonsense.

"Yes." was all she managed to say back.

"Please take a seat, Dear." 

Pointing to the wide armchair Mrs. Claus gestured to summon two cups of tea for them. Offering the hot drink to the young girl continued. 

"The reason I paused your project and called you here is to talk about your birth parents." gentle eyes never leaving the girl "We finally managed to locate them." 

This piqued the girl's curiosity. Of course, the girl knew she was adopted, as a human living among elves and magical creatures it was hard not to notice the differences. Not that it mattered, she had a great father and was raised with all the love and support that a child could want. 

"Forgive me Miss but why isn't my dad here for this discussion?" Hermione held her untouched teacup firmly between her hands. 

"He thought that his presence might influence your response." 

"That silly old elf." mumbled sipping her tea.

"He only cares about you, Dear."

"I know." She sight "When… How are you able to locate them? What have changed?" That was the question of the decade for Hermione.

The girl only knew she ended up at the North Pole after Christmas Eve. Apparently, a baby was fully capable of climbing a sled on the roof and hiding in the gift bag. Not even Santa Claus expected such a feat. _Wizards._

They tried to find their parents when an elf noticed her chubby little hands coming out of the bag. But they were powerless, they couldn't find a pattern of magic core compatible with the baby girl. Even magic had its limits. 

After two weeks of unsuccessful searches, Hermione had already won the heart of an old elf who accepted the girl as the daughter he never could have. The mechanic always believed that he had left the search behind after adopting her. Well, she had been wrong.

"We were never able to find a magic pattern compatible with yours before, turns out it was because your birth parents are muggles." 

Her eyes held the question she wanted to ask. _So how?_

"You have a sister, she just got accepted into Beauxbatons that's how we managed to finally find them" 

Hermione's throat caught. A sister? if she had just been accepted into a magical school she must have been eleven years old. It was not just another matter of meeting her birth parents anymore, she could have a sister waiting for her.

"What do you want me to do?" 

"Nothing you are uncomfortable doing, I am just providing you with information. What you decide to do with it is up to you." 

"But you paused my project." _You already have an expected response inclination._

"Indeed, you work so hard, more than any elf in here, and never took a day off." She got up and picked up a file on her desk, gentle passing it to Hermione "I'm giving you a choice, you can use this free time of your's to meet your family or spend time on a beach in Brazil if you please." 

Accepting the file with shaking hands she read the name printed on the first piece of paper. 

_Gaye Granger._

Touching with her thumb those words Hermione left the office with the phrase. 

"I will think about it."


	2. Meeting new people

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like this chapter :)

The airport was packed. The constant noise of bags being dragged, people talking on the phone in several different languages, and the constant heat that only a multitude of congeries bodies could emanate even in winter was indicative of that. Many people were taking advantage of the month's discounts to visit their family to celebrate the holidays. Hermione held the handle of her suitcase tightly, the girl hated crowds. 

What she loved most about her workshop besides being able to build anything her heart desired was the fact that it was the most empty department. The gift building division, which was the one she's a part of, was divided into artistic creation. They are the committee that decided which would be the main gifts to receive the focus of the year. The official assemblers who were tasked with doing the rough work being the largest and most chaotic department of the Christmas castle, excluding the reindeer caretakers... And finally, the mechanics took care of the more specific jobs like testing the magic properties of the equipment, safety measures, ensuring that the coffee machine of the break room was always working, and in Hermione's case fixing Santa's sled. 

At the entire North Pole only Hermione, Mrs. Claus, and Gary were able to work on the sled. She never forgot that privilege, she worked harder, more than any elf, expecting to show that the reason she was chosen was that this human girl deserves her place between the other elfs. Perhaps this contributed a little to Hermione's social phobia and not being able to deal well with other beings that weren't electronic. At least she had brought back up. 

"Hermione we need to go to the parking lot, the line for taxis must be huge already," Luna informed as she gave the last check on the airport map. 

After her conversation with Mrs. Claus, the mechanic did what any 18-year-old girl in charge of an important decision would do. She pulled her best friend into an empty room and started rambling. 

The blonde elf gave all her support to any decision Hermione might make, even offering to accompany her on this journey in the Muggle world. As a high member of the postal division, Luna spent half of her time checking out mail districts around the world, gaining extensive knowledge of the human culture. The knowledge that the human girl doesn't have. The irony. 

"Don’t you think we should have called beforehand? Isn't it kind of invasive just to get in someone's house without a warning first?" Hermione wasn't able to hide the apprehension in her voice. 

"Are you questioning Santa Claus' methods?" Luna stopped in front of the exit to face Hermione with a raised eyebrow.

"Well yes… No! I mean it's just a small courtesy, their lost eighteen-year-old daughter appears out of nowhere at their door without even a phone call to prepare... They must be busy with work or something… " Hermione was so distracted by her nervous response that she didn't notice the body that she ended up colliding unintentionally. 

Luckily the two fell on top of a snow pile, unfortunately, they had fallen on the way out of the airport which was a very dirty place. 

"Get off me right now or I will call secureety." said an angry voice with a strong accent. 

Hermione noticing that in addition to dropping someone else, she was still on top of the other woman who appears incredibly pissed with every second the girl insisted on not moving away. Red-faced as a tomato Hermione stepped away from the woman standing up in the process.

"I'm really sorry Miss I wasn't looking where I was going." she said embarrassed as she offered her hand to help the other woman to get up. 

Ignoring the offered hand the woman stood up alone and trying to clean the remains of the snow from her coat.

"Evidently you were not." she grunted in disdain "Pay more attenteeon to 'ere you are not everyone will be understanding with errors." said that last words looking directly into Hermione's eyes and left leaving the girl behind. 

While the mechanic was processing what had just occurred, she had completely forgotten about her friend by her side.

"You know, you could have waited a little longer before falling for the first pretty girl to cross your path." her attempt to alleviate the situation was met with a slap on the shoulder.

The two girls went to the main headquarters in London. Every country capital always had an elf seat to help send their correspondence. The elf mail is so efficient that it was not limited only to the Christmas needs. Among the wizarding community if you wanted a good delivery there was no one better in the business you could ask for. Luna used her credentials as head of the Northern department to get a room inside the headquarters for the two of them. 

Leaving their luggage behind, they could concentrate on the next step of their mission. That is if Hermione manages to knock on the door first.

"Do you want me to knock for you?" the blonde asked in her usual calm voice.

"Just give me a minute to think about what to say first." The mechanic said with a sigh. 

"I believe you only have three seconds." 

"I have what…" 

"I'm going to the park mom! I'll be back soon… you want something?" curious brown eyes stared at Hermione through the open door.

Hermione's breath caught in her throat. There in front of her was a part of her family, her sister, and the only thing she could do was stand still like a fucking ice statue.

"Are you two from any Christmas charity? Like Santa's good helpers or something?" 

Noticing the clear discrepancy between her garish green and red robes and pointed hats while the girl in front of her wearing jeans and a sweater Hermione managed to understand that this was some kind of cultural slip. Luna's pointed ears didn't help either. 

"Hello Love, by chance your parents happen to be at home now?" Luna intervened after noticing that her friend was not going to open her mouth so soon. 

"Mom! There are two girls here wanting to talk to you about some charity!" after shouting this the girl grabbed her backpack, said goodbye to both of them, and went out towards the elevator of the building. 

An older woman who must have been in her forties appeared at the door. Although at home she wore formal clothes as if she had just arrived at a business meeting.

"What may I help you two with?" she said with a gentle voice and a smile on her face. 

Hermione seemed to wake up from her shock. With her mouth still dry, the girl managed, with great effort, to utter the words she had trained to say.

"Hello my name is Hermione, this will sound strange but I believe I'm your daughter." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My attempt to write a French accent, I hope it was good :v


	3. Girls don't cry over spilled chocolate

The steam of the opaque liquid entering slowly through her nostrils was one of the few anchors Hermione had at the moment. Luna's constant gaze checking if she was okay was the second. Sitting in front of her, the Grangers watched her with tears in their eyes. Hermione didn't know if they were happy to be reunited with their daughter after years or in pain because they had lost so much time of her growth. 

After introducing herself to Jean, she still wasn't sure how to refer to the woman, the girls were invited to enter the house. Her husband appeared shortly afterward and looked as surprised as his wife with Hermione and mainly Luna's presence. 

Having an eleven-year-old daughter accepted into a magic school they thought they would have no more surprises, but apparently even after accepting that magic was real, it took a while to convince them that Santa Claus also exists. The Grangers didn't doubt that she was their daughter, Hermione was almost her mother's mirror when younger, but Santa Claus? It couldn't be anything other than a fucking joke.

Apart from pointy ears and slight stature, an elf could easily be mistaken for a human. At least in appearance. All it took was a quick demonstration of the elfish speed by running around the house and putting all the books in the library face down in less than 10 seconds for them to start believing the girl. 

"I know it must be a lot to process at once." Luna said as she sipped her tea.

"I think I got used to the shock after finding out that vampires and werewolves were real too." Jean said with her thoughtful look "We just need the tooth fairy to complete the bingo at this rate." she laughed at her own joke. 

Is this an inappropriate time to confirm that she was right? Yeah, that can wait. 

"We always wonder what had happened to you." Hector, her father, looked at her with such a devastating sight it was difficult to maintain eye contact seeing the man like that "After... failing to find you at Christmas we tried the police, filled out all the reports of possible lost children we could, I… we never imagined you could be all this time at the north pole, how did this even happen?" 

"Mrs. Claus's theory is that I developed my magic core very early, I must have heard the reindeer and floated to the sled by the chimney... this is at least the most plausible explanation for why I ended up in the gift bag." Hermione was squeezing her cup. Man, that would be much easier if they were machines. 

"How did you find us?" Jean held her husband's hand while asking this.

"Gaye, she... The elfs were able to locate her magical core by the records after she was accepted into Beauxbatons, it was too similar to mine to ignore." 

The Grangers might not understand much of the magical world but they understood that it was the fact that they were Muggles that made the search difficult. The silence that followed after that statement was awkward. Luckily Luna was there to break the ice. 

"My only doubt is why Beauxbatons? You three live in England usually the children here go to Hogwarts instead." Luna's curious tone was captivating, always managing to divert unwanted attention. 

"After years of unsuccessful searches, we decided to move to France to be closer to my family. Changing the air a little you know?" her smile didn't reach her eyes "Gaye was born there, we just returned to England after her seventh birthday. She received a proposal from both schools, but we chose Beauxbatons after hearing the rumors about how dangerous Hogwarts was." Jean tiredly sighed.

Hermione might not know much about life outside the North Pole, but even she knew the actually true rumors about Hogwarts' precarious security measures. What kind of school has a basilisk in their ladies' room? Sure not a good one. 

"I would like to meet her, all of you, I would like to know more about all of you, If that's ok of course." Hermione's voice was as steady as the grip of her hands.

Jean almost cried hearing that. 

"Of course Hermione, we would love to know more about you." looking at her husband as if seeking confirmation continued "Do you have any place to stay?" 

"Yes Miss, we are staying in the Mail headquarter for now." Luna said as she looked at the clock on the wall "we must go, despite Hermione been here on vacation we still have some last reports to finish." Her sweet voice made up for the direct phrase.

The girls said goodbye to the couple who exchanged contact information with the mechanic promising to try to arrange a new meeting throughout the week. After finally returning to headquarters Hermione let out a sigh of relief. 

"What did you think of them?" Luna asked as she set up her monitor to get to work.

"They are fine I guess, look like nice people a little awkward but I think that was expected of this whole situation." 

Staring at her friend who was absently looking at some unfinished projects she said. 

"But they're not the ones that are making you worried." 

"No." She sight "Adults I can handle, but I never spent a lot of time with children I don't know how I should act."

"Just be yourself, but with less swearing and you will be fine." 

Well, shit. 

As Mrs. Claus had paused Hermione's projects until further notice she ended up finishing her reports very quickly. Luna still had a lot of paperwork to fill out and the mechanic couldn’t stay still for a long time so she decided to check out the city while she could. Putting on her pointy hat and shoes with bells she was just on her way to the door when the blonde spoke casually. 

"Remember to buy a bottle of baking soda, it's a great stain remover." 

Although accustomed to the elf's quirks, she can't help frowning and taking a second look at her clothes. Oil and grease stains were so common to spread on her clothes that she stopped notice then. Finding nothing wrong, she shrugged and headed off towards the main street. 

Christmas lights could be seen in the windows of the buildings. The cold wind carried the distant sound of choral songs as kissing Hermione's cheek. A few pedestrians walked on the sidewalk, those who she could see kept a closed expression as if they had no time to lose with a simple good morning. This wasn't the North Pole anymore. 

Rubbing her hands together, she headed towards a small crowd near the square. On a colorful wooden board, it read Santa Claus village. What, in Hermione's opinion, was almost an offense because the "village" consisted of just an ornate pine tree and a big red chair with a very angry white-bearded boy on it. He seemed to be arguing with a red-haired girl wearing clothes very similar to Hermione's.

"Ginny the lights went out. I'm not going to sit here with this pinching beard if nobody is going to show up." He pointed towards the dark tree as if he wanted to indicate his point. 

"Ron, mom will be pissed if you leave now, Percy cannot come and you are the only one besides him that fits in the costume." 

"But we don't have a tree! What's the point!" 

"The point is to make children happy you selfish ass!" She said between her teeth, controlling herself not to shout.

Ok, Hermione likes this girl. Seeing that the problem of the discussion was caused by some kind of mechanical failure Hermione went over to the tree. Following the light cable wire to the main circuit, she opened the panel to take a better look. Man, who fried those wires? A quick look around the area to make sure she wasn’t being observed, Hermione summoned up her tools with a snap of fingers and started to fix the machine.

Hermione might not have the speed of an elf but the girl managed to solve the problem in less than five minutes. She was putting the panel back in place when a voice startled her.

"What do you think you're doing?" 

"Fuck!" covered her mouth after hearing what she had slipped "Shit sorry I had no intention of cursing in front of the children today." 

"That was two curses and you still haven't answered my question, What. Do. You. Think. You're. Doing?" the girl said each syllable of the question so firmly that it made Hermione start to sweat cold over her intense gaze. 

"I fixed your lights." 

"You fixed our lights?" The redhead raised a suspicious eyebrow hearing this answer. 

Challenged by the skepticism of the girl, Hermione closed the panel and pressed the button on the monitor, leaving the dark tree now completely illuminated with the colorful lights it was supposed to be. 

"How did you even managed this? The cables were fried." the shock on her face was evident.

Scratching the back of her head Hermione simply answered. 

"I'm good with machines." 

The redhead looked at Hermione from head to toe analyzing this strange good Samaritan who had just saved her afternoon. 

"I have a proposal for you." 

The Weasleys, as Hermione ended up knowing, were a big family of redheads who liked to hold events at the end of the year to cheer up the children for Christmas. The matriarch, Molly, was immensely grateful for the mechanic help offering to make a special lunch for the girl. The woman was so excited that Hermione didn't have the heart to refuse Ginny's offer. 

"We are here less than a day and you already got a new job, Hermione do you even know what a vacation means?" The girl could feel the smirk that Luna was giving her over the phone. 

"What did you want me to do? They needed a new handyperson for the rest of the events, apparently, the last one disappeared drunk on a motorcycle and never reported for work again." 

"You are incorrigible, you know that right?" 

"Shut up, I'm coming back and I have hot chocolate with me." 

"With cinnamon and vanilla in mine?" 

"Who do you think I am?" Hermione scoffed Before ending the call. 

With her two hot chocolates safe in their paper envelope, courtesy of Mrs. Weasley, the young girl tried to head back to her room. Tried is the keyword. As she turned the corner a rude pedestrian tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to drop the hot liquid by the ground and on a woman's shoes. A very expensive pair of white shoes.

"I'm so sorry miss! Let me try to clean up for…" Hermione's apology was interrupted by an angry voice. 

"Do not tempt to touch me." 

Wait… where I've heard that voice before. 

Angry blue eyes met apologetic brown ones.

"Magnificent!" Her voice was full of sarcasm "It Just happened to be the same girl 'oo took me down in the morneeng." She crossed her arms while sending a poisonous look towards Hermione. 

Well... it could be worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know If anyone notices but Hermione's been raised by Elfs is based on the Elf movie. I gathered three other movies to create this plot along with my own ideas. I'll let you guys guess the references:p  
> P.s: I'm not following the Elf plot.


	4. Neutral is better than negative

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm only finishing this work for the respect I have for the readers that are liking this story. I'm a little sad and I don't think I'm gonna post another fic for a long while. Hope you guys like this chapter.

A snap of the fingers and kindness could resolve a lot of things. However, the latter is impossible to be found in some humans. This only made Hermione's situation incredibly unpleasant. 

The grumpy blonde, as Hermione decided to name her, demanded compensation for her damaged shoes spilled by hot chocolate. Despite feeling guilty for having disturbed the stranger a second time, the other girl didn't need to be so cranky about it. 

If she could use magic freely It would be so much simple, but by the rules of the Wizard world, she was unable to use the most simple cleaning spell in front of a muggle borne. The headache she would get with a fight between jurisdictions was something Hermione did not need in her life. So she plays along with the grumpy blonde agreeing to pay for the shoe cleaning. Without her chocolate, Hermione returned to their room with the girl's contact information saved on the phone. Until Luna had the audacity to point it out, the fact that she got the number from a pretty girl didn't even cross her mind.

Getting rid of the frowning face and constantly annoyed tone it was possible to perceive that the stranger had an enviable beauty. Dancing over her shoulders were the most delicate golden strands of blond hair Hermione ever saw. Skin so smooth it could easily be mistaken for porcelain. Glossy pink lips that insisted on being stuck in a thin irritated line at her face. And her eyes, comparing those pure blue pools with the ocean or even the sky was an insult to the depths of color that faced Hermione's soul. She was a remarkable sign. A very rude one. 

"Are you going to meet your grumpy muse today?" 

Hermione grunted hearing that and gave Luna an annoyed look.

"No, she wants to have as little contact as possible with me, apparently I am a danger to the security of others." she sighed "She just wanted my number to give me the cleaning bill… Fuck, I don't even know her name." 

"Ouch, I'm sure you will be able to resolve this disagreement between you two." Picking up her briefcase from the table Luna added "Do you want to attend the annual meeting on the misuse of pines as Christmas trees in tropical countries? I heard they even got the support from the nymphs this year." 

"As much as I want to spend three hours listening to the elves discussing how the use of palm trees makes more sense for countries whose pines are not typical in their flora... I'm gonna have to pass this time." said as she opened their bedroom door to leave "I schedule a meeting at the mall with Jean and Gaye." 

Hermione tried to keep in touch with her biological parents throughout the week by texting. Stood behind an electronic screen was much more in her comfort zone than actual talking. The messages were short, asking simple questions like what she was thinking about the city if she was enjoying the new job, and asking more about life at the North Pole. Save topics. They still maintained some of the initial awkwardness with each other but were trying step by step to break it. 

After Hermione commented on the Christmas village she was helping at the mall, Jean timidly suggested if they could go for a walk together. She had to finish buying some gifts and it was a great opportunity for Hermione to meet her sister officially. Hector, unfortunately, had to stay at their dentist office, caries didn't stop because of the holidays, but he promised to make up for it with coffee on another free day. Even with one less Granger to deal with Hermione was anxious.

"Just remember to be yourself with less cursing and you will be fine," Luna said as she made vague gestures with her hands. 

"No mysterious tips for today?" Hermione suspiciously narrows her eyes. 

"I could tell you that the west wing on the second floor is private but you wouldn't understand the meaning of it yet." she was right, Hermione had no idea what kind of bullshit her friend was talking about. 

Although the mechanic had gone to the mall before, courtesy of the Weasleys, she was not yet very familiar with agglomerations of people in general. The luck was that they arranged to meet at the coffee shop, the girl could happily wait sitting with her caramel latte away from the crowd of bodies she wanted to avoid. Hermione was just finishing her drink when she saw Jean and her sister approaching.

"Hello Hermione, I hope you didn't wait too long." Jean smiled saying that.

"No not at all." cleared her throat "Hi Gaye is nice to finally meet you." She offered her hand for a handshake. 

Elf's don't shake hands as a grating but she read humans like to do it especially in London. The young girl stared at her for a few seconds before reluctantly accept the offered hand. 

"Mom said you are my lost sister." Said while still holding Hermione's hand "And that you know Santa Claus?" Her tone showed skepticism. 

"Yeah…" with her free hands she played with her fingers "You would like to meet him?" Would Ms. Claus authorize a private tour of the North Pole?

"No, Santa is for little kids, I'm eleven I don't need him." 

"Gaye!" Her mother warned. 

"But it's true only little kids still believe in Santa!" she said while crossing her arms crossly.

Jean took a deep breath. 

"Honey we talk about it, you are a witch, is not that hard to accept Santa is real too." 

Hearing that Hermione feels a sarcastic comment wanting to come up. But for the peace of the afternoon, she swallows it. 

The walk through the mall was exactly what Hermione feared, awkward. Jean tried to keep some of the conversation flowing between the two girls by suggesting some topics, but it didn't help much. Gaye only gave short answers and did not seem remotely excited to be meeting her sister and Hermione became more and more nervous by the girl's attitude and was suffering a severe case of tongue-tie. 

After they managed to find all the gifts they needed Gaye asked if she could be dismissed to go home already. Jean gave Hermione a sorry look. 

"Give her some time, she is still getting used to the idea of having an old sister." Jean apologize. 

"It's ok, I didn't expect we would get along right away." She sighed. 

"I text you later ok." 

"Sure." 

Hermione might not have made much progress today, but at least the girl had tried. The mechanic didn't blame Gaye for her defensive reaction, she was upset with it, of course, but she understood that this wasn't completely centered in antagonizing her. Dealing with feelings was already hard, imagine dealing with them in an eleven-year-old body. Honestly, the rejection wasn't even the worst scenario she had in mind. 

Deciding to distract her head, she went to check to see if any of the Weasleys needed any help. Putting her hand in some tools was useful to wash away the sadness. 

Spotting Ginny's characteristic red hair near the fake villa Hermione walked over to her. 

"Hey, Ginny I came to check if you need me for anything?"  _ Please say yes.  _

"Oh hi, Hermione actually yes but not with a mechanic thing this time." 

Hermione raised her eyebrow following Ginny's gaze and finally noticing a small human being crouched on the floor. It was a little girl, who must have been the same age as her sister, with blonde hair and a face red with tears. 

"I think she lost herself from her parents but I'm not sure." Ginny said scratching behind her head. 

"Why?" Hermione said as she crouched down and stayed level with the frightened girl.

"Because she doesn't speak English and I only took three French lessons before giving up and switching to Spanish." Her tone was tired "I was going to ask you to keep an eye on her while I went to get the security guard."

"That's not necessary." looking directly at the girl Hermione asked in perfect French  _ "Hey sweet, what's your name?"  _

_ "Gabrielle… you... Can understand me?"  _

_ "Yes, my name is Hermione are you lost?"  _

_ "I got lost in the crowd... ended up here, I don't know where my parents are."  _ She sniffed

_ "It's ok, my friend, and I will help you to find them."  _ turning to Ginny, who looked at her with an open mouth while seen Hermione talking to the girl, added, "Ginny you can go and call the security, I'll stay here with Gabrielle." 

After Gabrielle described the clothes her parents were wearing, Ginny left as quickly as possible to seek help. Hermione remained crouched with her, the girl did not seem to want to move and was still crying a little. 

_ "Do you want me to tell you a story to distract you?"  _

_ "No, I'm too big for stories."  _

_ "Maybe, but even adults need to hear stories from time to time"  _ her tone was calm and thoughtful _ "it's a way to forget for a while what makes us sad."  _

The blonde girl seemed to ponder the idea.

_ "Ok… but tell me a happy one please."  _

__ Hearing the approval Hermione smiled, she took the necklace from her neck and showed it to Gabrielle. The pendant of a small silver feather dangled in her hand. 

_ "When I was a little girl just like you, I met one of my first friends, she was hiding in the garden waiting to see the sunset because it was one of the fell things that made her happy."  _

_ "Why she was sad?"  _

_ "She fought with her parents and didn't want to see anyone at home."  _ Hermione was carried away by the memory from a Christmas eve many years ago  _ "I found her by accident, I wanted to explore the garden and ended up falling on top of her."  _ Hermione laughed as she remembered that, even after years she still had a habit of bumping into people.

_ "Was she mad?" _

_ "Not really, was more surprised than anything, she didn’t expect anyone else there."  _ turning her pendant on her finger continued  _ "she wanted someone to talk to and I was the person who heard her, we spent most of the night telling stories and at the end when I needed to leave she asked if I would be her friend. I was not the best at making friends and neither did she, people thought she was weird. But I was also a weird one so we could be weird together."  _ That was one of her happiest memories.

_ "Does your pendant have anything to do with her?"  _ Gabrielle asked as pointing to the silver feather in question. 

_ "Yes, she wanted to give me something as proof of friendship so she gave me her necklace and I gave my ring in return."  _

It was one of the few times Hermione was scolded by her father, the ring had been a gift for having managed to finish her first engine and he was incredibly upset that she had lost it. The girl never revealed that she had exchanged the ring for the necklace fearing he would make her trade back. Smiling towards Gabrielle Hermione finished. 

_ "You remind me of her a little, you two are blond and tiny."  _

_ "Hey, I'm not tiny!"  _

_ "Yes you are, but don't worry you are still growing up."  _

Gabrielle was quite offended that she had been called a tiny and turned her face to the other side. Crossing her eyes with a blonde woman running towards them. 

_ "Gabrielle! What I told you about running ahead without checking if we're close!"  _

_ "Mama!"  _ Gabrielle finally got up and ran towards her mother. 

The girl's father was soon behind, they thanked Hermione and Ginny immensely for helping to find their daughter. Ginny only replied that as Santa's helpers it was their duty to help any children in need. If only she knew how right she was when she affirmed that. 

"This turned out well." The redhead said, "You are good with children, maybe I can convince my mom to replace Ron for you as Santa." she chuckled as saying that.

"Maybe." agreed thoughtfully. 

At least Hermione had been successful with one child today. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things about this universe: 
> 
> \- Hermione is a witch but doesn't need a wand, she was raised by elfs she uses magic like them.  
> -Elfs work around the world, they basically speak all languages, Hermione, too.  
> -Luna is much more intuitive than an ordinary elf, this is my headcanon.  
> -The discussion about palm trees is a serious matter and must be taken into account!


	5. The subtle art of thanking while you don't give a fuck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reviews cheered me up a little :) I hope you guys like this chapter.

Being used to the harsh northern climate, it was a nice change to be able to sleep in a place that didn't reach negative forty degrees at night. Even with the best heater in the castle they still had to use heater charms to keep them from freezing. So for Hermione being able to sleep in a warm bed with only thick socks as the hottest item was her sunny dream. The tired mechanic would have stayed a few more hours enjoying it if she hadn't been interrupted by a persistent peck on her nose.

"Ouch, Luna what the hell is this?" Hermione said as she reluctantly got out of bed and looked at what could only be described as an angry brown bird. 

"I believe she wants you to take the letter in her paw," Luna said while sipping some of her tea.

Gently picking up the letter stuck in the owl's claw Hermione looked confusedly at the sender as the bird made a show of flying in circles around her and going out through the open window. Was it possible this bird was mocking her?

"How that owl even got here in the first place?" The girl was in a bad mood because was awakened so rudely. 

"I let her in." Hermione stared at her friend in shock at that.

"You, an elf, allowed an owl to enter your territory freely?" 

"Believe my pride is hurt by that." offering a cup of tea to the other girl Luna added, "It is not my place to judge others by their awful backward choices of sending their mail." She was clearly judging "And the letter was for you so I will try not to take it as a personal insult." 

Hermione accepted that her sleep would not return so soon and took a long sip of her tea, opening the letter with her bare hands just wanting to end this mystery right away. Delicate golden words flew over the piece of parchment as the girl read what appeared to be a pompous invitation. 

"What it says?" 

"Apparently my presence is requested as the guest of honor at the annual Delacour family ball." 

"Guest of honor? Did you save an heiress or something?" Her tone was mischievous. 

Hermione stood on her bed staring at the letter and trying hard to remember if she had done anything that had earned her an invitation in what was certainly a very exclusive event in the wizarding world. Unable to think of anything, she decided that this was a problem for future Hermione to solve. 

"Not that I remembered." The girl sight "How disrespectful would it be if I fake an illness to not go?" 

"Taking into account that this seems to come from an aristocrat witch family? I would say that you don't have much choice in the matter." 

"Fuck, can you be my plus one at least?" _I can't face old rich wizards alone!_

"Of course, I never miss an opportunity for free food." Luna gave one of her warm smiles when she said that. 

Throughout the day the invitation had already been lost in her memory. After having fixed Florean Fortescue ice cream machine, which frankly was an old piece of trash that should have been retired years ago, everyone at the mall started asking Hermione to fix something. Not that this bothers her, loving work with any type of machine getting recognition, and being popular for once was a very satisfying feeling. 

Almost ready to finish her morning by taking the final look at the coffee maker, Hermione received a curious text. She frowned when realize this was from the grumpy blonde. 

_We need to talk._

Hearing that phrase always causes a could in her spine no matter who says it. This coming from a person who wanted as little contact as possible with Hermione only increased the tension. Barely breathe as answered the message. 

They agreed to meet in the bistro next to the shoe store. Which only added to her suspicions that the blonde was going to make her buy a new pair of shoes because the other could not be saved. Preparing herself mentally to put up with the rude personality she decided to at least change her clothes before heading to the meeting point. Without the first good impression at her side, Hermione wasn't going to let the blonde think she always walks around covered in grease stains. Yeah, maybe a bath and maybe some perfume would help her case. 

Luna didn't even bother to hide her smirk when saw the other girl worrying about her appearance. 

Armed with clean clothes and her famous pointed hat Hermione headed for the bistro. She had gained five percent more confidence with this act but her hands were still sweating. 

Scanning the tables, she spotted the distinctive long velvety blond locks. Man, what would she give to know the brand of conditioner this woman used. 

"You are late." The blonde said raising a perfect eyebrow as turning her head towards Hermione.

"Sorry." The mechanic murmured while sitting in the chair facing the other woman "What did you want to talk about?" 

"First I wanted to inform you zat you were lucky, zey managed to remove ze stain zat you left on my shoe." 

_Thanks, Santa for this._

"Oh ok, you can give me the receipt I pay as soon as we finish here." Hermione remained looking at the blonde waiting for her to continue what she wanted to say. 

But after what seemed like a long minute of silence, she decided to conclude that the matter was closed. Which was strange because she swore there was something more because of the way the blonde put up her sentence. 

"Hum, well if we fini…" 

"Did you by any chance 'elp a lost child yesterday?" 

Hermione blinked at that. 

"Yeah, I helped a French girl who got lost from her parents." _How does she even know that? Worse, what does this have to do with their conversation!_ "Why?" 

"She is my seester." looked to the side biting her lip while pondering what to say next "I still zink you're a danger to public safety but you can 'ave... ozzer qualities so I wanted to zank you." 

_How did this woman still manage to be moody while showing gratitude?_

"Ok… but you don't need to thank me I just did what anyone should have done in my place." 

"You did not." She said firmly looking directly at Hermione "You 'elped my seester, zanks to you she is no longer lost and scared in an unknown place whaire no one understands 'er." She sighed "Zank you." 

Although it still didn't sound friendly, she could tell the amount of gratitude that radiated from those blue eyes were sincere. It was strange to be receiving anything other than a frown from the blonde. Not that she had any complaints. 

"How did you even know it was me?" Hermione asked curiously. 

"I did not know, I asked, didn't I?" 

"Well yeah, but you should have some kind of hunch for that." 

"Your description matched, it’s not everyone 'oo walks around in zis particular type of clothing." She said with clear disdain in her voice.

Okay, now Hermione was getting annoyed. What was wrong with her clothes?

"For someone who wanted to thank me, you can still be really rude." She whispered as crossing her arms, not low enough however for the blonde not to hear.

"Do not confuse zings, zanks is different from sorry and I am not apologizing for my previous behavior toward you." 

"You could be a little nice now at least." 

"Zis is me been nice 'ermione." 

The nerve of that woman. Hermione would have continued to argue further if the sound of her name hadn't activated a reminder in her brain.

"I don't know your name." 

"Yes, I never told you." 

Silence. 

"Are you gonna tell me? You know mine it's only fair." _Or I can continue to call you grumpy blonde that also works._

Very reluctantly as if she had chewed something bitter the woman decided to provide the answer Hermione wanted. 

"My name is Fleur, Fleur Delacour." 

Well, now she could finally change the name of the contact... Wait. 

"Delacour?" the girl gulped. 

_Great just fucking great._

"I believe zat for your reaction you 'ave already received my mother's invitation." Despite the monotone tone, Hermione could identify a light teasing behind Fleur's words.

Just. Fucking. Great. Luna was right she had helped an heiress. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I intended to release a fanart in this chapter of Luna and Hermione with their Elf clothes but... I haven't finished yet :v  
> Also a note: let's just accept that the wizarding world is not so ignorant about Muggle technology in this universe. Santa is real everything is possible.  
> The Yule ball tag finally makes sense :p


	6. Fight like a snowball

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this is kind of a mess I got a little stuck with this chapter. But hey I delivered! Hope you guys like :)

Having a roommate was starting to become a nuisance. Not that Luna wasn't great, she was Hermione's best friend for a reason. But there was a small mini little problem that irritated the mechanic. Luna hated mess and although her workshop was a haven for methodical organization the same could not be said of her design table. 

The pile of scattered papers and remnants of eraser could be seen both on the table and within a radius of three meters away from it. Not to mention when she decided to bring something to pull apart for fun and ended up with a pile of scrap metal and grease all over the bedroom. Sometimes with a lingering smell of burning wire as well. 

Okay, maybe it's partly Hermione's fault for ignoring Luna's gentle suggestions to clean up her mess until she reaches the point of no return. However, in her defense, her table was the only place that could be considered chaotic. The girl needed that energy to stimulate her creative neurons. Well, that was the excuse she used every time Luna looked with narrowed eyes towards her wild quadrant. At least there was no leftover food hidden there. 

The discomfort in the room would continue until Hermione accepted her fate and finally cleared her work desk. What would not happen today because she had scheduled to meet her sister and Hector! Clearly, that was not an excuse to delay the work. 

It's also an excellent way of not thinking about a certain grumpy blonde who could be seen more and more in the mall. Apparently, Fleur was addicted to caffeine and the kiosk near the sport's store was the only place that made a decent cup of coffee. They didn't talk much, but Fleur started to at least try to engage in small talk when she saw Hermione passing by. This new dynamic was becoming confusing. 

Even with her constant bad mood, the mechanic could see that the heiress was trying to be… like not nice but Fleur's version of what nice would be? Well, she was being polite. Hermione suspected it must just be because she had helped her sister and the girl had some sense of gratitude for her. It couldn't be for any other reason, right? 

This was becoming remarkably frustrating. Fleur's endless frown and silky smooth hair were bringing some sort of mixed feelings to Hermione and she would honestly ignore them as much as possible.

So... about her meeting. This time Jean was the one who could not attend. They needed at least one of them present at the family clinic and were taking turns trying to get more time with Hermione. This didn't bother the girl, it was easier to deal with one of them at a time. The biggest issue was Gaye. 

Hermione has not yet managed to get into the girl's good graces. Part of the problem was due to the girl's resistance to discussing anything related to the North Pole. Limiting topics that they could talk about to mechanics, school, the weather, and random questions that look more like an interrogation than a conversation. Was it too late to cancel? 

They agreed to go for a walk in the park. Although it was already starting to accumulate snow on the streets, the park trails were relatively clean, which allowed the brave ones to face the cold weather. Hector thought Gaye would be more open if they did an activity that the girl liked as skating. It would be a great opportunity for his daughters to bond. Unfortunately, he didn't count on the possibility that Gaye would simply take her skateboard and run alone in the park while the two adults stood like trees watching her. 

"Sorry Hermione I really thought this was going to work." he looked devastated that his brilliant plan went so wrong. 

"It's ok." It was not "At least she agreed to come this time, I count it as progress." She looked at him with a tentative smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Cold penetrated through her veins, the snow having little influence on the processes. To Offer love and receive not even the simple touch of warmth from the other person could drain anyone. This whole situation was being a struggle for Hermione. A one-sided battle. They didn't have to be sisters now, but why couldn't they be friends?

"She looks happy over there." Hermione sighed. 

"She always liked skateboards, after she returned from school it seems that she has been trying to spend as much time in one as possible." watching his daughter from afar Hector can't help but smile "She says it is the closest that reminds her of the feeling of flying." 

"Hum." 

"She was very sad when she found out that first-year students weren't selected for the Quidditch team." 

Hermione appreciated what he was trying to do. But receiving secondhand information was like putting salt in the wound. 

"You know…" he would have continued to ramble had he not been interrupted by the ring of his phone "One moment please." said while answering the phone.

Whoever was on the other line was not giving good news. Hector looked incredibly frustrated as he answered. With a final sigh, he hung up and turned to Hermione.

"I'm sorry Hermione there was a problem at the clinic and I need to go there now." taking one last look at his skating daughter added, "I don't know if I will have time to leave Gaye at home." Hector scratched his head trying to think of a solution.

_This looks like an opportunity. Don't fuck this up._

"I can leave her at home." Hermione suggested with a timidity voice. 

"Oh thanks, Hermione, are you sure it won't be a problem?" as much as he was given the girl an out, Hermione could see how much her help was accepted.

"It's no problem at all." 

After thanking the mechanic, Hector called Gaye to say he would have to leave early. His daughter's expression remained neutral when he announced that Hermione would take her home. The silence that followed when the two were left alone could not have another name if not awkward. 

_Don't fuck this up_. 

"So, would you like to eat a crepe? I think I saw a salesman ahead." 

"No." 

"Do you want to keep skating? I can wait I have a free afternoon." 

Gaye seemed to ponder this idea as if tempted to accept the offer but with a firm shake of her head, she refused.

"Ok, go away then." taking a quick look around the park Hermione added "There are many eyes here, we have to walk a little so I can apparate you home." This caught the attention of the girl.

"You don't have a car?" was it Hermione's impression or did the girl look nervous?

"I... well never needed one, even though I'm able to drive most of the common human vehicles." 

"You can apparate alone I'll go with my skateboard." 

"Gaye, I can't let you do this. I promised your father that I would take you home." Hermione Tried to say in an appeasing tone.

"I don't need a babysitter I can go alone." She scoffed.

"It's three blocks away and it's full of snow." honestly from whom did this girl take the stubbornness? "If your problem is with apparate, we can take a taxi." 

Realizing that she would not win this argument, she reluctantly agreed to be escorted by the older girl. Walking a step ahead of Hermione towards the exit, she made no effort to keep the conversation going. It didn't take long for a loud voice to break the silence.

"Hey, if it is not baby Gaye here!" 

Hermione almost knocked out her sister. The girl was just paralyzed in front of her after hearing that stranger's voice. But the moment did not last long, Gaye immediately put her skateboard on the floor and ran to the exit being followed by a group of what looked like five children on bicycles. 

Hermione didn't understand anything that had just happened but hell would freeze before she allowed five rascals to chase after her sister. Using a little elf magic on her foot, Hermione ran through the park until she found her sister lying in a pile of snow facing the five children that were surrounding her.

"And now that you can no longer hide there's no one to help poor baby Gaye." what appeared to be the leader of the group said with a wicked smile. 

_Only over my dead body you son of a bitch will touch my sister!_

With her body enchanted with elf magic, Hermione mounted a pile of snowballs and more accurately than an arrow began to strike repeatedly at each of the bastards who were terrifying her sister. 

The snowball storm left them incredibly confused. They were unable to determine where they were coming from as they went getting faster and stronger with each passing second. Anger was great fuel for magic. A succession of screams began to fill the air.

"Fuck!" 

"What the hell?" 

"This bitch is cursed let's get out of here!" Said the leader of the group as they ran away with their tails between their legs like dogs. 

Gaye, who had not been hit by any snowball, continued to lie on the ground with a wide-eyed gaze, understanding as much as the bullies what had happened. 

"Hey, Gaye are you ok?" Hermione appeared beside the girl offering her hand for her getting up.

"What just happens?" accepting the offered hand asked still confused. 

"Ah, I saw them chasing you and I assumed it was an ambush so I just troll a bunch of snowballs to scare the bastards." She answers with a grin. 

"You… did you throw a bunch of snowballs at children to help me?" 

"Well, I honestly would have hit them but I think this is illegal in this country if I'm not mistaken." scratching her head and fixing the hat added "Come on, I have to take you home." 

Gaye was looking at her with a strange expression. As if seeing this strange human in elf clothes for the first time. 

"Won't you ask who they were?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. 

"If you want to talk to me I will listen but if not... this is your business I'm not pressuring you." 

A heartbeat could be heard by the silence that followed.

"We can eat crepes," Gaye murmured. 

"Hum?" 

"Crepes, you offered earlier we can have one before you leave me at home." said grumpily. 

This simple act would have made Hermione incredibly happy for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, her clumsy self had to turn and hit her face hard on a pole. 

Perhaps it would have been better if she had cleaned up her desk instead. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be the ball!


	7. Luna is always right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys, this is a big chapter hope you like :) 
> 
> Me arguing with my brain everytime I have to write Fleur accent:  
> Me: Is this looking like French to you?  
> My brain: How would I know we don't know French.  
> Me: Ok but is this looking like French?  
> My brain:... I guess...  
> Me: Good enough for me.

Contrary to popular belief, the North Pole doesn't celebrate just one big holiday a year. Shocking I know, however, the magical land of Christmas managed to celebrate several of the elfic and wizards traditions. Hermione tried to focus on this while trying to decide what outfit to wear to the ball. 

A wizarding family would not require the same wardrobe as a muggle one. Most were very comfortable with robes and bright colors at formal events. This in itself was partly a relief since she starts interacting more with other humans, Hermione had been becoming self-conscious about her clothes. 

As much as she was dressing up for the holiday, as Ginny likes to say, the crooked looks Hermione received every time she crossed the street didn't go unnoticed by the girl. Changing her clothes, abandon a part of her culture, just to blend in better with people who couldn't accept the difference would only give those jerks all the satisfaction of winning. Despite keeping the head up, it didn't stop the bothering feeling from appearing. 

The mechanic was trying to keep her mind off the bordering topic by reading Christmas a history. The worn, yellowed pages with the corners covered in pencil personal notes confirmed that it was a beloved book. As much as she had already read the book countless times it always brought the girl comfort to review Sir Nicolau Flamel's story. 

Nicolau was a wizard like her. He was a scholar whose dream was to share the joy of magic around the world. Very ridiculed in his time for his foolish and dangerous ideas, Nicolau was hunted by the Ministry of Magic of several countries for years. The north pole was the only safe place to hide. 

After getting lost in the snow forest he came face to face, he literally fell, on the gates of an elf villa. There he managed to finish developing his studies with the help of the little magical creatures. The philosopher's stone was born. He could drink from its elixir and live a long life, but Nicolau merged it, in delicate handling of collaborative magic, with his magic core. The wizarding community went into shock with this. 

It took a few decades for the holiday to solidify. Creating a whole new system to bring joy to everyone around the globe is more difficult than it seems. In the end, the ministries reached an agreement. As long as the secret of magic remained hidden in the form of Santa Claus myth Nicolau could spend one night a year fulfilling the wish of children in the form of gifts. 

She was in the chapter that counted the political intrigues behind the creation of the Christmas magic department when Luna arrived in their room.

"Why aren't you ready yet?" 

"Excuse me, you aren't ready either." 

"True, but you don't have the elfish speed to be valid with this argument." Luna went to the wardrobe, removing the delicate robe from the hanger, and handed it to Hermione "Bath, clothes and I do your makeup if you go now." 

Hermione only agreed and started preparing for the torture that would be the ball. When Luna finished applying Hermione's makeup just to prove a point, she waited until the girl was holding the doorknob to get ready. In the blink of an eye, she was already beside her friend smirking, completely ready for the ball. What a tease. 

Luna took Hermione's hand and apparated them both to the destination mansion. They appeared right in front of the huge metal gate. An elegant bird, whose species Hermione could not identify, was carved in a silver line looking directly at the girl. Luna promptly showed the invitation to the ingrown statue. The bird's eyes changed to gold causing the gate doors to open. They lead towards the mansion entrance, Hermione's throat was becoming dry with each passing second.

_Fuck, they are richer than I thought._

"Come on Hermione I don't want to miss the good quiches." Luna said as she pushed the girl inside.

Not a second passed after the doorbell rang and a very tall butler appeared at the door.

"Good evening miladies please follow me." despite the upright posture and serious face his tone was friendly as if he was incredibly pleased to be showing them the way around.

Well if the employees were polite it was already a positive point. She had more chance of getting away without someone yelling at her.

The girls followed the butler to the open door of the ballroom. Stopping just before the entrance the butler turned his face towards them and asked.

"Which names should I announce miladies?" 

"Just Hermione and Luna it will be fine." replied the blonde. 

He narrowed his eyes at that.

"No last name?" 

"I don't want to be rude." Luna said with a graceful smile "But I don't think you have the necessary vocal cords to pronounce our surname." A slight point at her pointed ears was all it took for the man to understand "But if it is a protocol you can add from the North Pole for the both of us." 

"Very well." Clearing his throat he proclaimed "I present here the two honor guests to the annual Delacour ball Miss Hermione and Miss Luna from the North Pole." 

Several heads turned to look at the girls when they heard the unusual entrance. Having so many looks on Hermione made her sweat. Luna, as the best friend she is, took her hand and guided her to the center of the room. 

"No need to be nervous, no one is judging you, they're just curious." Luna whispered in her friend's ear. 

"Sorry, this doesn't help my nerves much." 

"Fortunately they are not getting worse, the matriarch of the family is coming towards us." she discreetly pointed with her eyes at someone that Hermione recognized as the mother of the lost girl. 

_Fuck._

_"Hermione dear I'm so happy that you managed to come."_ The blonde woman said excitedly as she greeted Hermione with the typical two kisses on the cheek _"Gabrielle insisted that we invite you to the ball after what you did, as if we were not going to do that anyway."_ scoffed. 

The affectionate way she spoke made Hermione remember Mrs. Claus. This made the mechanic's heart calm down.

_"I am honored by the invitation Mrs."_

_"Nothing of this nonsense of Mrs. call me Apolline."_ turning her head towards Luna added _"Ah I see we have a distant cousin here."_

_You have a what now?_

_"Delighted to be welcomed into your home, Great Dame."_ Luna respectfully said as she bowed. 

_"Little one you don't need titles with me, Hermione's mate can call me Apolline too."_

_Hermione's what?_

_"I'm afraid I'll have to keep your title then."_ Apolline smiled at the answer. 

_"If you two need anything, don't hesitate to ask. I will be entertaining the rest of the guests, enjoy the food!"_ the matriarch said goodbye and went to greet more people.

Seeing the woman walking away Hermione asked. 

"Cousin?" 

"You couldn't tell?" Hermione shook her head "She is a Veela, a high-ranking one by the way." 

"Are you kidding me?" The mechanic mumbled.

"I'm not surprised that you didn't notice, without being transformed the only visible indicator of a veela is their thrall." stopped thoughtfully for a moment as if analyzing something "Which you are not susceptible to feel because you were always surrounded by elfs." She laughed while saying that.

It was a little-known fact but just as the Veelas elfs had their own magical attractive property. Charisma. It could make the most grumpy human being acts friendly towards them, it was almost impossible not to like an elf because of that. It was a variation of the Veelas thrall that indicated the distant link between species. So Hermione who lived her entire life surrounded by charisma was practically immune to any attractive magic coming from creatures. 

Looking around Hermione could see that there were many women of sublime beauty surrounding the room. Some had followed her interaction with Apolline and kept a curious eye on the girl. They must have been part of their flock. Just what she had gotten herself into. 

"Let's just steal a quiche before I give up on staying here." 

They reached the buffet table and Luna was soon taking a plate and filling it with lots of the different pastries that she could reach with her hands.

"The food won't run away you know?" 

"You only get the right to make fun of me when you have a fast metabolism." said tasting what looked like a chocolate profiterole. 

"Fair enough." 

Hermione managed to taste an excellent cheese tart. She was so distracted talking to Luna that she barely noticed the blond figure clutching her leg. 

_"Hermione you come!"_ said a very happy Gabrielle. 

Hermione didn't have much time to react as the blonde girl started getting scolded. 

"Gabrielle! What I told you about runneeng around jumping on people!" 

looking at those irritating facial features Hermione could hardly believe she hadn't noticed how much the two girls were alike before. The little blonde, who was still hiding her face in Hermione's leg, was practically a miniature version of Fleur. 

_"Why are you speaking in English? Hermione speaks French."_ took a small confused look towards her older sister.

It may have been only the mechanic's impression, but she could swear that Fleur's eyes changed color for a second. The older blonde pinched her nose in frustration.

_"Because someone kept insisting that I speak more in English so she can practice the language."_

_"Okay, but now we're at the ball so… break time!" turning her attention to Hermione she added in a whisper tone "I loved your clothes, they are very soft."_

_Ok, that kid definitely won me over._ Patting the tiny girl on the head, she answers with a big smile on her face.

_"Thank you, yours are not too bad either."_

_"No! They itch, yours are better."_ she squeezed the girl's leg even more to prove her point. 

_"Gabrielle leaves Hermione alone, you're going to make her fall or drop something."_ although Fleur was tapping her feet waiting for her sister, she had a smirk on her face addressed to Hermione.

The girl reluctantly left the leg of the mechanic and went to her sister's side.

_"What are you thinking of the ball so far?"_

_Ah, we started with the small talk again._

_"Well, the food is excellent."_

_"Certainly!"_ Luna, who was too focused on finishing her plate, finally intervened in the conversation. 

Fleur narrowed her eyes at the elf girl. She was openly staring at the pointed ears.

_"And you are?"_

_"I'm Luna, Hermione's plus one for the day."_ her smile was the definition of innocence when she said that. 

Hermione choked on the air. 

_"Oh, I see."_ Her face got tense _"I will take this little demon to our mother, enjoy your... date, Hermione."_ With a nod, she took her sister's hand and left. 

Hermione waited for them to be out of sight to hit Luna on the shoulder. 

"Did you have to speak like that?" 

"Like what?" 

"Oh, I don't know, like I keep bringing different girls to all the parties I go." 

"I only told the truth, my good friend." She made a diminishing gesture with her hands "Relax, she will only think the same as her mother." 

"Which is?" 

"That you are my betrothed." Luna won another hit on her shoulder.

After Fleur left them, it seemed that the rest of the guests were staring at her more and more. Even more, now that she was alone. Luna was asked for a dance by a tall brunette and left Hermione sitting at one of the tables in the corner. 

She was sipping her punch cup to distract herself when a redhead approached her table.

"Hey mind if I sit here? the other tables are full." 

"Sure." 

With the permission given the redhead sat in the front chair.

"I'm Bill, Bill Weasley by the way." 

_Weasley?_

"I'm Hermione, sorry but would you happen to be related to Ginny and Molly Weasley?" 

"Yeah, they are my sister and mom!" He stares at her like he was just realizing something "No way, you are Hermione, the mall's mechanic that Fleur keeps complaining about!" Bill looks like he won his day.

_She says what about me?_

Seeing the other girl's frustrated face he quickly added.

"Don't get it wrong, I never saw Fleur get as much frustrated by a person as she was with you." 

"And do you want me to interpret this positively?"

"Of course!" He looked deep into the girl's eyes when saying the next words "I have known Fleur for years, she is normally grumpy but no one can make her complain that much if she has no interest in the person." 

_Wait, Fleur is interested in me?_ Is he drunk?

_"Bill, come to dance!"_ a blonde woman on the dance floor shouted.

"That's my clue, just think about what I told you ok." He went out towards the dance floor leaving Hermione alone again. 

The new perspective on the subject had to be analyzed. She couldn't do that inside that noisy space full of people, maybe a quick trip to the bathroom would help. She slowly moves towards the door through which she and Luna had entered, wherever the bathroom was, it shouldn't be difficult to find.

She was wrong. Why did rich people have to have such big houses? She was already on the second floor and there was no sign of the bathroom. It wasn't like she needed to go to the bathroom, Hermione just wishes for a calm place to think, but now it had become a matter of principle. While pondering whether it was worth it to apparate to an unknown location, an angry voice shouted.

"What are you even zinking you are doing 'ere?" 

Turning her head backward in slow motion she came face to face with the person who had supposedly interest in her. And Fleur looks annoyed… great. 

"Hum… I was looking for the bathroom." 

"On ze west wing, ze area resairved for ze family rooms?" Fleur raised one of her perfect eyebrows in doubt.

"Ok your house is huge I... got lost." 

Fleur scanned the girl from head to toe for any sign of lying. Finding none, she sighed and said.

"I was going to get sometheeng in my room, you can use my bathroom if you want." She didn't wait for an answer heading for one of the doors at the left of the hall "Are you coming or not?" 

Hermione who was standing still like a statue woke up and followed behind the blonde. She was distracted looking at the decoration on the bedroom walls when Fleur cleared her throat.

"The bathroom is on zat door over zere." said as pointing her finger. 

"Oh, ok… I have to be honest I don't actually need to use the bathroom just wanted a quiet place to think." 

The blonde who was picking up a small object from her desk looked at her absently. 

"I will not let you be alone in my room." putting the object in the dress pocket Fleur sat on the bed and stared at the girl. 

"Do you want me to leave?" 

"No, I said I won't leave you alone in my room, I am still 'ere, you can talk about what is bozering you if you want." She tapped the space beside her for the girl to sit.

Was it a good idea to talk directly to the person you were going to analyze the behavior? Why did she have to be so nice now? 

"Hum…" 

"You can say no you know? I am sure Luna must be waiting for you." 

Hermione laughed at that.

"Sorry, but I think Luna is too distracted dancing with a member of your flock to notice that I'm gone." in a quick decision she accepted the place offered by the blonde at the bed.

"Is she not your date for ze night?" 

"Yes, but she is my friend and also deserves to have some fun without me." 

This response seemed to retain Fleur's attention, not that she was demonstrating much. 

"I see, so what is bozering you?" She turned her eyes to face Hermione directly. 

_Your blue eyes and the way you look at me._

"A friend of yours came to talk to me earlier." She was fiddling with her necklace chain in a nervous gesture.

"Which one?" 

"Bill." Fleur got tense hearing this "He said something funny about you complaining a lot about me lately and that it was a good thing?" 

"I will kill zat nosy bastard." The blonde said between her teeth. 

Hermione only heard it because she was sitting close.

"Can I confirm then that your supposed interest in me is true?" 

Fleur was avoiding looking at Hermione, focusing on the girl's hands on the chain. There was a slight recognition in her eyes but it could be nervousness speaking.

"I do 'ave an interest in you, a not so platonic one, 'owever did not intend to do anything about it." 

"Ok, I'm not following." 

Fleur took a deep breath.

"I'm engaged, 'ermione." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I invest in a lot of worldbuilding in this chapter hope it makes sense. Also if you guys have any question about this universe leave a review ;) Or if you just want to yell at me... Please don't yell at me... 
> 
> P.s: Don't know if anyone notices this but Luna said on chapter four something about the west wing :v She is always right ;)


	8. Remember me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the resolution of the last chapter :v hope I answered the What's :)

The distant sound of music drove through the hallways until it reached the silhouette of the door, gentle squeezing itself through the lock until finally reaching the ears of the two members of the room. It was either that or that sound came from Hermione's heart that could compete with a drum for who beat the faster place. 

Fleur was engaged. The girl for whom she was having feelings, who made her stomach turn upside down with a strange warmth and managed to turn her into a walking disaster every time they encounter each other, was very well committed. Just. Fucking. Great. 

"Ok, so you have a non-platonic interest in me."  _ And I for you  _ "but it will not go beyond this because you are engaged right?" Hermione moved her hands in a nervous gesture around her neck. 

Perhaps saying the obvious out loud would only make the situation more embarrassing, but she couldn't help it. Vocalizing the received information helped her to process it better. And Fleur wasn't helping much by looking at her as if she'd said some kind of nonsense. Why did those blue eyes have to carry so much weight on her skin? 

"Yes, zat is what I said." Fleur looked at her curiously. 

_ Oh, cool, now she thinks I'm an idiot!  _

"Sorry, it's just I never noticed a ring on your finger and it's not like we talked a lot with each other, I just found out that you are a veela today and it was only because Luna told me if it wasn't for that I probably wouldn't even have noticed." She let out a nervous laugh "So I was taken by surprise here."  _ Why does my mouth keep saying bullshit!  _

Fleur for her part was looking at the rambling girl with a frown. 

"You did not noteece I am a veela." despite the statement there was a doubtful tone in the sentence. 

"Hey, it's not like I have a lot of leads to follow and even if I did, I don't know much about magical creatures, in general, they are not machines."  _ Please stop me.  _

Fleur's frown only seemed to have increased.

"Don't you feel my thrall? I believe zis is enough evidence for any wizard." 

Okay, how Hermione could explain it in a few words without telling her entire life story in one go. Perhaps separating the equation into parts? Yeah, this should do. 

"I was raised by elfs, I spent almost my entire life at the North Pole surrounded by them... My body kinda doesn't respond to that kind of magic anymore." She continued to fiddle with her necklace chain. 

The two girls remained quiet, sitting on the edge of the bed. It was as if they knew that the moment they walked out the door, things would not be the same as before. And neither of them wanted that.

"I do 'ave a ring." Fleur said as biting her bottom lip. 

"Hum?" 

"You 'ave already stated zat you do not know enough about magical creatures, but 'ow much ignorant you are about veelas really?" If Fleur's tone didn't show mere curiosity, Hermione would have accepted the direct question as an offense. 

"That you are creatures with two forms one human and the other half-bird... the thrall thing and that you tend to form a flock." 

"So almost nothing zen." The blonde took a deep sigh "There is an ancient Veela tradition zat says if two beings exchange gifts of great value during the winter solitude zey will 'ave zeir paths intertwined." Her voice was peaceful as she recited the old tale of her people "I made a promise as a child to someone I zought I would see again someday, 'ow silly I was." let out a depreciatory laugh "I recreated an old tradition without even realizing what I was doing but not knowing ze tradition does not exempt you from ze magical contract." Blue eyes met brown in the tension of the moment "Until I can find zat person again and break ze contract I can't be with another." I can't be with you, it was what she was trying to say.

Hermione could see from Fleur's shaking hands and her sad look that this story had left a deep scar on the blonde's heart. She wanted to offer comfort but the mechanic hands were glued to her own neck tightening her chain.  _ This looks familiar. _

"That person." She gulped "You don't like them?" 

"I do not know, zey were someone I needed at ze time, a friend, and I 'ave only a memory of a vague night with me." 

Hermione was starting to accumulate sweat behind her neck. The more Fleur spoke the more the feeling of familiarity increased. The question Hermione had to ask made her apprehensive. If she was right, she had no idea how the blonde would react.

"What did you two exchange? You mentioned a ring?" 

"Yes, zey gave me a ring zat I suppose contained great emotional value and I gave zey a necklace with my first feather." 

The pieces in the puzzle had finally clicked together. Very slowly Hermione unzipped her necklace. Taking It off from her neck the pendant was finally showing. A single silver feather, Fleur's feather. The blonde lost her breath when faced with that vision. 

"It's you." pressing the blanket with both hands Fleur could barely hide the shock from her face.

"Yes, it's me." 

She was looking for an answer in Fleur's features. She saw it pass in seconds, fondness, hurt and sadness on the blonde eyes. She expected a yell, honestly, she deserved a yell but what she got were strong arms pulling her shoulders closer to the blonde's face. 

Fleur was shaking, holding Hermione's shirt as if she thought the girl was going to disappear. The mechanic on her part passed her arms around the blonde's back taking Fleur in a hug. 

_ "Why did you never come back?" _ She asked in her native tongue with her face still resting on Hermione's shoulder.

Drawing small circles on Fleur's back with her finger, Hermione said. 

"I wasn't supposed to be on the sled that night, I hid in it because I wanted to see how it worked up close. When Santa stopped in your backyard I thought it was so beautiful that I wanted to explore it a little bit and then I found you." her voice was peaceful while remembering the memory "I ended up spending more time outside than I should have, only managed to get back because I had forgotten my jacket on the sled and Santa was like a madman looking for me in all the chimneys of France." She tightened their hug "I took a giant scold that day, I was not allowed near the sled unless accompanied for a long time, I didn't remember your address, and finding a child with no name is like finding a penguin at the North."  _ Impossible  _ "I lost hope, but I also never tried as hard as I should." 

_ "You keep the necklace."  _

"I never took it off." 

The two girls remained silent. Focused on staying embraced feeling each other's warmth for a while.

"Fleur, what does this mean for us?" 

"According to veela customs we are engaged." 

"And that's what you want? Be engaged with me?" 

"I spent several Christmases waiting for you to come back until I started to associate ze date with lost. I had promised myself zat if I found you I would try to break the bond." loosened the tightness of the embrace to get a look on Hermione's face "But I found you and I want to know more about you I just don't know what to do anymore." 

"I want to know more about you too." passing a strand of blond hair behind Fleur's ear she add "Can we keep it slow? Forget for a moment about the engagement and just get to know each other, if you hate me after a few days we can try to break the bond and you would be free to choose someone else." 

"It seems zat you are giving me a lot of power in this decision." 

"You shouldn't have to be stuck with someone you don't like." 

One last look into Hermione's eyes and Fleur made her decision. 

"I can do slow." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's too emotional? Yes. Did I care? Nope :p   
> Also I stole the accidental marriage prompt from Fleurmione week for plot reasons... Did you guys like it?


	9. I don't know what I'm doing but I'm trying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like this chapter. It's pure fluffy :)

Luna was called back to the North pole. Unlike Hermione, who never took a vacation in her life, her friend had limited days to spend at London headquarters until they couldn't handle things without her anymore. Having Luna's support while the mechanic was dealing with this whole hey I have parents and a sister but she doesn't like me at all situation, was one of the pillars that kept her strong. She would miss her friend.

However phones exist, they could call each other, their contact would not simply disappear and the situation had improved immensely since the first day they arrived. Gaye was talking to her now, she even agreed to go to the movies just the two of them. She began to recognize Hermione's efforts more after her sister defended her from the bullies. The conversation was still going a little slow but hey they were having a dialogue and making plans!

What most influenced her change in attitude, though, was Hermione's keeping the promise. The mechanic didn't press her to understand what had happened at the park, gave the girl her time, being available whenever she wanted to open up. The best person to notice an anguished heart is someone who carries the same burden. Of course, while the girl was still not opening up, that didn’t stop Hermione from memorizing the face of the bastards and plan the worst hex she could find for when they cross paths again. 

Alone in her room, the open window let a comforting icy breeze kiss her face. Hermione had just sent a message to her father telling how things were going in London, she was debating whether or not to tell the old elf about her accidental engagement. The image of him running to the headquarters demanding to meet the mysterious bride he had never heard of was enough to make Hermione retain the information for as much longer as she can. With a sigh she came back to observe the city, the buildings around, the car horns the smell of burning cookies…

_Shit!_

She ran to look at the little oven and see if she still could save anything. Unplugging and taking a slight look at the small cloud of black smoke that has infested her room the girl concluded that if the taste was like the smell, these cookies had won a one-way trip to the trash. So much work to try to please the grumpy blonde wasted. 

She had won the oven in the secret friend of the mall, she never saw much use for it besides future spare parts, but after the movie she watched with Gaye where the main couple exchanged homemade gifts, the girl decided to risk a little in the kitchen department. Making cookies shouldn't be so hard, her dad did it all the time but apparently, her green finger for machines didn't apply to sweets… or food in general. 

After they cooled down, she even tried one to see if they had any salvation. Good thing she was alone in the room because the spit and cough she gave would have been embarrassing to witness. _How did you manage to spoil the recipe so much that was a level one difficulty!_ Not wanting to cause a food infection in anyone, Hermione got rid of the salty bombs she had managed to prepare.

If Hermione couldn’t do something as simple as baking cookies how would she be able to mend years of hurt she had unintentionally infringed on Fleur? Of course, she knew gifts wasn't going to solve their problems, but Hermione was trying to show that she would commit to their kind of unorthodox relationship. The small gestures mattered the most to her so it was incredibly frustrating not being able to deliver what was expected. Well, the thinking of a plan B had to be scheduled for later. Hermione had a date and this time she would arrive on time. 

Fleur's blond head could be seen from the bistro door. They agreed to go to the same place that they had their first civilized conversation. It was neutral territory and they could spend time getting to know more about each other. Heading toward the table barely reached the blonde's field of vision when she declared. 

"It is not polite to leave a lady waiting." Fleur's chin was resting under her hand while she was looking at the menu with false interest.

"In my defense, I arrived five minutes earlier." She pulled out her chair to sit across from Fleur. 

"I arrived ten, you 'ave to improve your game if you want to impress me Miss from ze North Pole." Fleur teased.

Hermione was beginning to understand the blonde's sense of humor better. At least forty percent of what came out of her mouth was just brutal honesty. Forty more for when she really wants to be her usual grumpy, usually because she was annoyed and the rest of the percentage was a mixture of sarcastic flirtation. Hermione was sure walking around the twenty percent marge.

"Well, I have the rest of this lunch to get you to change your mind about it." 

"I will allow you to try at least but only because I was promised a surprise at ze end." 

_Why did my big mouth have to text her saying I had a fucking surprise._ _I have nothing to deliver!_

"Can you give me an 'int about what it would be?" the curiosity in her eyes was almost palpable.

"Nope." _I can't tell you something that even I don't know_ "But don't worry, good girls always get their gifts." 

Despite the awful pickup line, which for some mysterious reason made Fleur laugh, she had half her brain in the conversation and the other half trying to solve the problem of having nothing. She had zero chance of breaking another promise, but what could Hermione do? Well, she never said it was a physical object she was going to deliver… _Yeah, that could work._

" 'ow was your day at work?" 

"Hum, Oh good now that I know that the Weasleys are a witch family, it was much easier to fix things freely without worrying about the hiding magic part." 

"I still don't understand why zey do it every Christmas." 

"Apparently it's because of their father, he says it's a way to integrate the community and promote magic for muggle children while they still believe in the truth about Santa." 

The few times Hermione met Arthur proved that he could be an elf as excited and charismatic as he was with everyone. The man loved to talk to people about the most random subjects, like the best toasters, the aerodynamics behind the planes, and rubber ducks. Stopping to think it made a lot of sense now that they were a witch family. 

"And you, how was your day?" 

"Monotone but not for long, goblins do not care much about commemorative dates, which means zat every year some groups like to put a prank on zem." she frowned thinking about it "I'm waiting for ze inevitable 'eadache." 

"Are they that bad?" 

"Last year zey transformed ze bank 'all into ze Christmas land of sweets, Even after zey got rid of zat whole sugar bomb, we 'ad ant infestations for weeks." 

"Ouch, whoever is responsible should like to annoy the goblins a lot." 

"So most of ze world population zan." 

"True." 

They chatted some more while enjoying lunch. Talking to Fleur was easy, especially now that they were aware of each other's feelings. They had done everything in the wrong order, but they were trying. At the end of lunch, Hermione and Fleur walked hand in hand to the headquarter. 

"Ok, I want to take you to a place in here that I think you’ll like, do you trust me?" 

"Not at all." She was grinning while saying this "But I am curious so show me ze way."

They passed through the wrapping sector meeting some co-workers along the way, no one questioned Fleur's presence simply because she was with Hermione. What she could do, she had a reputation. After passing through a wide corridor, they came to a wooden door with runes embedded in the sides.

Hermione, still with her fingers intertwined in Fleur's hand, didn't contain her smile as she unlocked the door. The smell of spring invaded the girls' bodies. Different kinds of roses could be seen hanging on the walls, lavender, daisies, tulips, each corner of the huge room was covered with some kind of flower. 

"Welcome to the elfs garden, My lady." 

Fleur barely heard Hermione talking, she was fascinated by the beauty of the place, her eyes wanted to capture every detail. 

"This is beautiful Hermione." 

"Oh, and it gets better." Pressing the switch on the wall the ceiling now showed the sunset "Our first meeting was in a garden, you were there to see the sunset because it was one of your favorite things to witness, so I decided to bring you a sunset because what I want is to see you happy." 

Fleur finally looked away from the garden and looked at the wonderful girl who was beside her. Blue eyes carried such tenderness when looking into brown ones. 

"Please say yes." Fleur whispered as she approached Hermione. 

"Hum?" The blonde had taken her face with one of her hands and Hermione was finding it difficult to concentrate. 

"I know we are taking zings slowly but you just did one of the sweetest gestures of all for me and I zink if I don't kiss you now I may explode, so please say yes." their foreheads were touching now "May I kiss you?" 

"Yes." 

Surrounded by the scent of flowers with Fleur's lips all over hers, she couldn't help thinking that having burned her cookies hadn't been so bad at all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last one will be the epilogue.
> 
> Extra:
> 
> Hermione - Hey How come you didn't invite Ginny to the ball she helped your sister too? 
> 
> Fleur- I did invite 'er but she said she would not go.
> 
> Hermione- Why? 
> 
> Fleur- Because according to 'er I am the rudest person she knows and she didn't want to deal with me.
> 
> Hermione-...
> 
> Hermione-...
> 
> Hermione- Well...
> 
> Fleur- If you dare to agree with 'er I cancel our engagement.


	10. Merry Yule for all

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for stay with me and this random fic until the end. Hope you guys like :)

The smell of grease and metal was almost intoxicating. Honestly if there was a way to bottle the smell of a workshop Hermione would do it in the blink of an eye. With her tools in hand continued to work on the new engine she was developing. None of the same old thing from last year, this one would be better. 

The mechanic was so focused on finishing the circuit that she didn't hear the dangerous steps of a certain grumpy person.

" 'Ermione!" Fleur shouted behind the girl. 

Not waiting to be interrupted, her reaction was as expected. Hermione fright jumped and fused two wires that shouldn't be fused resulting in a nice shock.

"Fuck!" said while waving her hand to remove the traces of electricity. 

"I do not believe zat you are not finished yet we 'ave to leave in less zan twenty minutes!" 

If there was one thing she knew about her girlfriend, was that she definitely hated being late. Hermione could be fast, but Fleur always beat her in terms of arriving first on any of their dates. She could feel the blonde's gaze burning through her neck as Fleur tapped her foot impatiently. 

" 'Ermione!" 

Fearing the blonde's anger, she slowly turned to face the frown directed at her.

"Fleur love, did I say that you look beautiful in that dress? You are stunning my love." Her attempt to soften the situation was not appreciated, however. 

"Why aren't you ready? It's the family's Christmas ball, your father will arrive first than us." 

Surprisingly, aside from the scolding that Hermione got for having an engagement so early without even knowing her father was very receptive to their relationship. Who better to understand the traditions of magical creatures than a magical creature itself. Fleur and he hit off well, but since she was introduced to the old elf, it seemed that the two had entered an unspoken competition to see who could arrive first at family events. Unfortunately, the scoreboard is even now.

Deciding not to waste any more time, she gave two snaps of fingers, the first to clean up any dirt that had fallen on her body while working and the second to replace her work clothes for the party ones she had already separated that morning. 

"See, less than five minutes this time." taking the other girl's hand Hermione tried to head them to the door "Let's go." 

"Not yet." Fleur said pulling Hermione towards herself and capturing her lips in what could only be described as a fervent kiss.

Even taken by surprise Hermione was quick to respond by putting her arms around Fleur's neck bringing their bodies even closer, any distance between the two could no longer be seen. She completely melts under Fleur's touch. It was amazing that even after months of dating, her girlfriend still managed to extract this reaction from Hermione with a simple kiss. But like everything coming from the blonde, nothing could be just simple.

"I missed you today mon amour." with a last peck on Hermione's nose she adds "Ok, now we can go." 

She was accompanied by a very happy breathless Hermione.  _ Man, how did you get so lucky? _

They apparate in front of the mansion door and Fleur wasted no time ringing the bell, unceremoniously opened the door with her key and dragged Hermione into the ballroom. The family butler met them at the entrance and seemed very pleased to see the interaction between the two.

"Good afternoon Ladies, Lady Delacour was waiting for you to arrive." 

"Good afternoon Oliver how…" 

" 'as 'ermione's family arrived yet?" Fleur cut of the mechanic and went straight to the point. 

"Yes Miss, Both the Grangers and Hermione’s father are already inside." 

Fleur cursed under her breath. With one last nasty look directed at her girlfriend that could be translated as you haven't heard the end of it yet the butler announced their presence. 

Apolline was the first to greet them. Despite the matriarch's loving affection, she was one of the most difficult people to convince about their relationship. Regardless it was a veela tradition, after years of seeing her daughter suffering for what she considered a childish mistake, she was not supporting the decision to move forward with the engagement.

Even though she had developed a fondness for Hermione, the feeling was replaced by the fear to see her heartbroken daughter again. Of course, after threatening Hermione in her completely transformed Veela form and the girl not even stopping to blink when she replied that she was serious about her intentions with Fleur, Apolline decided to give the girl a chance. After seeing how much her grumpy daughter had returned to being her cheerful being, she returned to her affectionate posture towards Hermione. 

_ "My girls are beautiful today."  _

_ "Thank's, mamma."  _

_ "Oh, Hermione I asked Alan to make the cakes with cream that you like."  _ She said after hugging her daughter.

_ "I appreciate it Apolline, you can be sure that I will try one later." _

_ "Try not to take too long, we have the huge number of two elves here today, what a disaster it will be if we run out of desserts."  _ Despite the playful tone, this possibility was very real.

After saying goodbye to the matriarch, the girls went around the room to greet more members of the flock. They came across Gabrielle on the way to the dessert table, the blonde girl was very happy to be celebrating Christmas away from school.

She had entered her first year at Beauxbatons and although the little blonde had a lot of fun in the new environment she did not want to look at a book so early. Surprisingly Gaye, who was a year older, was a great help in the school's hallways. 

They came face to face after Gabrielle saw the girl trying to smuggle a skateboard into the dormitories. Promising silence if the girl let her use the object from time to time they formed a friendship bond around creating chaos at school. Not that anyone could prove it, the two troublemakers were excellent at covering their tracks. 

Having managed to get one of the cream cakes from the table Hermione couldn't help thinking about how much her life had changed so much. The girl still had to go to the North Pole Headquarters from time to time to inspect the projects but managed to get a fixed residence with her own workshop in London. Partly because she wanted to spend more time with her new family, the Grangers are great, but the girl couldn't deny that the main reason was to stay close to her favorite veela. The mall staff was the happiest with the news, not wanting to lose the best mechanic they had. 

As promised, they took the relationship slowly. Gradually they became more and more comfortable in each other company. Little hesitant touches here and there turned into cuddling sessions through the night. They no longer needed small talk to keep the conversation flowing. They were able to talk about everything and nothing at all at the same time, like about a new book that came out, the best types of engine oil, their ambitions, and dreams, Fleur's fear of being abandoned again. Nothing was left out.

Sometimes they even forgot that they were already engaged, just remembering when Apolline asked when they were going to set up the wedding date. Bill loved it every time it happened because it was one of the few moments he could see Fleur's flushed expression. 

Hermione liked to see that Fleur now wore the ring on her left hand. As much as it was not the classic engagement ring, the blonde refused to treat it as anything else if not that. Hermione never took the necklace off her neck, the silver feather brushed over her chest as a reminder that one day she could make Fleur wear the ring on her right hand. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.s: I tried to put a fanart of Hermione and Luna elf clothes but... It didn't work :( Sorry, until I discover a way to put the link here you guys will have to use your imagination.


End file.
